Hello listers,
While at work today, one of my co-workers alerted me to the following
articles from the NY Times; thought I would share and pass them along to you.
Jon
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New York Times Online
June 7, 2002
BEYOND REPAIR
The Mechanic's Guide to British Roadsters
British cars are, unfortunately, the sum of their parts. Here are a few
particularly troublesome ones.
GAUGES
The Smiths gauge offers only vague suggestions of actual performance.
Speedometer and fuel gauge needles gyre wildly when they can be persuaded
to move at all. Ken Lemoine of Framingham, Mass., said his freshly restored
1965 Morris Mini Minor Traveller indicated 75 miles per hour at a dead
stop, until the speedometer needle fell off, obscuring his view of the
equally inaccurate fuel gauge.
S.U. CARBURETORS
There's a reason many British cars that once had twin carburetors made by
Skinner Union (better known to collectors by its initials) are now fueled
by a single, reliable non-S.U. model. Getting S.U.'s synchronized is a
black art. Some veterans simply hold a section of garden hose up to the
carbs and listen for the correct balance.
WIRE WHEELS
While wire wheels are attractive, they need regular maintenance or disaster
is inevitable. Failure to regularly check on wear in the hubs and splines
can lead to clunking, out-of-round wheels and, in extreme cases, loss of a
wheel at speed. Failure to regularly tighten each of the many spokes is
also asking for trouble.
BODY PARTS
In a process that extended well into the 1960's, British sheet metal was
virtually hand-formed by panel beaters using a shaping tool called the
English wheel. While the finished products are works of art and the
white-haired craftsmen look great in Rolls-Royce ads invoking ancient
traditions, no two body parts are alike. The restorer is reduced to
pounding the replacement bits into place with a sledgehammer.
SEALS
It's funny that a country where it is constantly raining can't make an
effective seal. Oil seals on British engines leak copiously. Convertible
tops admit miniature geysers from every joint, and water pours past the
trunk rubber to turn any precious cargo into a sodden mess. "Why don't the
British make computers? Because they couldn't find a way to make them leak
oil."
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